Viewing deployment and build logs
Every deployment in DeployHQ is broken down into a series of steps -- preparing the repository, running build commands, transferring files, running SSH commands, and so on. Each step has its own log, and you can read them all from the deployment's details page in the web UI.
Opening a deployment
- Click Projects in the top navigation and pick the project you want to look at.
- Open the Deployments tab. You'll see a list of every deployment for the project, with the most recent at the top, along with its status, branch, deployer, and timestamps.
- Click the deployment you're interested in to open its details page.
If a deployment is still in progress, the page updates live as new log lines arrive -- you don't need to refresh.
Reading the step list
The deployment details page lists every step in the order it ran, grouped by stage:
- Preparing -- waiting for capacity, preflight checks, repository preparation.
- Building -- checking out the repository, setting up the build environment, running each build command, and receiving the built files.
- Transferring -- connecting to each server, transferring files, uploading config files.
- Finishing -- delivering webhooks and sending notification emails.
Failed steps are highlighted in red. Click any step to expand it and see its log output. Steps that didn't produce logs (for example, waiting for capacity) won't expand.
Finding build logs specifically
Each build command you've configured appears as its own step in the Building stage, labelled with the command's name. To see the output of a specific build command -- for instance, npm run build or composer install -- click that step in the list. The log shows the command's stdout and stderr, including the exit code if the command failed.
If a build step fails, click the AI Explanation button on the failed step to get an instant analysis of the error and recommended fixes. See AI Error Explanation for details.
Downloading logs
You can download the full logs of a deployment for sharing with your team or attaching to a support request. The download button is available on the deployment details page once the deployment has finished running. The download includes every step's output as a plain text file.
How long logs are kept
Deployment logs are kept for the lifetime of the deployment record. If you've manually deleted a deployment, its logs go with it. For long-term audit needs, download the logs before deleting, or pull them via the Deployment logs API.
Looking for logs via API
If you need to inspect logs programmatically (for example, from a CI pipeline or a monitoring script), see the Deployment logs API. It returns the same log entries you see in the UI, scoped to a single step.
What the Ask AI drawer can and can't see
The in-product Ask AI drawer can answer general questions about DeployHQ features -- including how deployment logs work -- but it cannot read the contents of your specific deployments. If you ask it "why did my last deployment fail?" or "show me the build log for project X", it will explain the general workflow but won't be able to pull live data from your account. For that, open the deployment in the UI as described above, or use the API.